


Promise

by RamblingMegome



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 14 Days of Eremin, Cuddling, Day 9 Prompt: Holiday, Eremin - Freeform, Eren and Armin are super in love, Eren is a shy doof, Established Relationship, Fluff, Holiday Melancholy, Light Angst, M/M, Shiganshina Trio, This gets really cheesy, canonverse, holiday fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-03 00:02:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8688772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RamblingMegome/pseuds/RamblingMegome
Summary: The winter holidays roll around and the Survey Corps gets a break. Without families to go home to, the Shiganshina Trio is left to stick around base and keep themselves occupied while fighting off seasonal depression. Armin gets an idea about how to bring them all out of their slump, but Eren has been mysteriously absent lately...
Written for the 14 Days of Eremin, Day 9 prompt: Holiday.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Shhhhh let's pretend these guys spent a winter in the old castle before the Shiganshina Arc. This solstice holiday thing turned out to be kind of like Thanksgiving.

The old castle felt so much bigger with everyone gone, the empty stone corridors cold and echoing in the absence of most of its regular inhabitants. Everything seemed magnified – footsteps and voices, the chilly drafts seeping through the windows, somber thoughts, the silence of a still moment as snow piled quietly up on the windowsills.

Armin sighed, letting his book fall closed on his lap. He felt too sluggish to focus on the words right now. Instead, he readjusted his sweater around his shoulders and looked out the window, gazing down at the white blanket covering the training field. Aside from the rough trail beaten along one edge by the remaining tenants traipsing their way to town, the snow was unbroken. He stared down at the smooth, blank plane as if he could imprint those qualities onto his own mind. But his thoughts ticked inexhaustibly on.

The holidays were always difficult. There was no escaping the flood of nostalgia they brought, the dull ache of loss, the wrenching pangs of grief. His grandpa's warm smile... The old, wrinkled hand ruffling his hair, or stirring a pot of hot chocolate as a special holiday treat... Hours spent playing delightedly in the snow, his grandpa watching fondly from the porch, then from the window when the cold got to be too much for his frail body... The warmth of the solstice night, when they splurged and bought a whole chicken for dinner, when his parents came home and filled the empty spaces at the table, coloring the air with laughter and dreams and tall tales, Armin pestering excitedly about their work and his grandpa's eyes glistening with love. The memories assaulted him in flashes everywhere he looked, and part of him wished he could just turn off that part of his brain. It wore him down, remembering.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he were someplace else. It made it worse watching most of their Survey Corps comrades depart for their week off. It made it worse hearing goodbyes and holiday wishes from people who tried to be tactful but couldn't mask their high spirits at getting to go home to their families. It made it worse being stuck in this cold, empty castle, a little bubble of isolation in a sea of snow. It made it worse being stuck here, with nothing to do, for a whole week. But he had nowhere else to go, and his mind took advantage of the emptiness to ring throughout the silent space, whether he wanted it to or not.

Armin had been trying to keep himself occupied. He volunteered to help Levi clean the castle every day, doing his best to let the repetitive tasks wash over his thoughts. He did a lot of reading. He helped the stablemaster with the horses. He cooked meals – the handful of soldiers that had stayed on base had each been given a portion of rations to hold them through the week, which they were responsible for preparing and managing. He went into town and treated himself to a new book. He sat with Eren and Mikasa, sometimes chatting quietly, sometimes silent, often huddled together for warmth and wordless comfort. He kept himself occupied with Eren most nights, and some mornings – if there was one good thing about having so much free time, that was it.

Right. He still had family, he reminded himself, absentmindedly running his fingers over the book cover. And just being in their presence was soothing in a way that nothing else had ever been. Despite everything, he still had something to be grateful for, something to be hopeful for.

He could use some of that comfort right now, actually, before solitude sank its claws into him any further. He tore his gaze from the desolate view and stood up, slipping the book back on its shelf and exiting the archives.

He found Mikasa in the storeroom, polishing her maneuver gear. Despite seeming intently focused, she glanced up as Armin stepped into the room.

“Hey,” he greeted, with a small smile. “I'm glad you're here and not outside running laps.” In her own restlessness, Mikasa spent a lot of her time working out. Drills were one thing Armin was glad to be free of, especially in this cold, so he had no plans to join her for that one.

She welcomed him with a nod. “I did laps earlier. Do you need something?”

“Not really. Just felt like some company.” Armin tugged one of the low stools closer and sat down beside her. “Where's Eren?”

“He's out,” Mikasa replied as she worked her cloth into the mouth of one of the blade sheaths.

“Again? _Today?_ ” His brows knit together in surprise. Over the past few days Eren had been disappearing for long stretches of time, coming back in the evenings with windblown hair, a red nose, and cold fingers. He wouldn't say exactly where he was going – not to Armin, anyway. It worried him a little that Eren was spending so much time out alone, especially since his mood usually swung so low during this time of the year. But Mikasa didn't seem overly concerned, except for getting on his case about not wearing warm enough clothes, so maybe it was nothing. He could just be escaping the confines of their hollow headquarters and blowing off steam somewhere, for all Armin knew... Though if that were the case, it stung a bit that he wouldn't even say so. Still...

“But today's the solstice. Is he...?”

A shade of worry did pass over Mikasa's eyes now. The holiday was hard on all of them, but it hit Eren the hardest. But she shook her head. “I think he'll be fine.” Her gaze flicked over to Armin. “Hasn't he seemed different this year, to you?”

He chewed at his lip for a moment. “Yeah,” he had to admit. “But I can't tell if that's... entirely a good thing. He's seemed so distracted.” He supposed it was better than when Eren got sullen and lethargic, but he wasn't usually so secretive or solitary – that was what Armin wasn't sure about.

“I think it's a good thing.” Mikasa chose her words carefully. “It means he's found something else to focus on.” He met her eyes and she gave him a small smile.

Armin felt himself relax a little. “I guess you're right.” She seemed to be aware of something he wasn't. He still couldn't completely extinguish his concern, but he decided to trust her on this one.

He watched in silence for a while as Mikasa fastidiously worked over her gear, the smooth metal gleaming in the pale sunlight. Her slim, calloused fingers handled it with expert familiarity in a lulling rhythm.

“How are you doing?” She asked eventually, her tone leaving no room to mistake her meaning.

“Alright. Kind of heavy, and lonely. No worse than usual, though.” He hoped Eren got back soon. “You?”

“Me too,” she admitted. Her hand stilled and her gaze dropped to it, contemplative. “It's too quiet around here.”

Armin nodded in understanding. Part of him was glad that at least he wasn't the only one who found this atmosphere oppressive. The other part of him was just frustrated that this air of gloom was so pervasive. He was sick of feeling like this.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. “Hey, what if we tried doing something this year?” He wondered out loud.

Mikasa glanced at him curiously. “Like what?”

“I dunno. There's not much at hand.” He considered for a moment. “Maybe we could just... make a nice meal. Just something so we can have something to do instead of sitting around moping all night.”

He saw a spark of interest in her dark eyes. “We could go into town and buy some extra food,” she suggested.

“Yeah, have something other than rations.” Armin perked up a little now, his mind catching hold of the idea. “We could buy some meat, maybe. Or bake something. We'd have to go soon, before the shops close, but maybe we can have it ready by the time Eren comes back.”

“I like that idea,” she said, picking up her gear and standing. “Let me put this away first, and then we can go.”

–

They ended up buying a fair amount – a whole chicken, some fresh fruits and vegetables, a few types of breads and baking ingredients, a recipe book, some other items. It was a splurge, but Armin felt it was good use of his stipend. He rarely used it, anyway, and it was worth it for how much lighter he already felt even as he lugged the bags over the snow-covered path. The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen, poring over recipes, chopping, measuring, chatting in the oven-warmed room. None of them had really felt up to doing much during the holidays over the past few years in training, things still too raw despite the efforts around camp to cheer things up a little. But Armin was glad to be doing this now. Maybe it was the fact that he'd tasted real battle, come close to death, and didn't want to waste time being unhappy. Maybe it was simply the fact that he was doing something active. It didn't make the weight in his stomach go away, exactly, but when he looked at the little package of chocolate and thought of his grandpa, the pang of grief was tinged with fondness instead of bitterness. And that was as much as he could ever hope for.

They were just pulling the chicken out of the oven when Eren walked in.

“Hey, I wondered where you guys were. Isn't it a little early for dinner?” He asked, then stopped and blinked in bewilderment at the mass of dishes cooling on the counter. “What's this...?”

Armin shook his slightly sweaty bangs out of his eyes and smiled at him. “We thought it would be nice to do something special this year,” he said. “It's not much, but...”

“But we're together,” Mikasa finished, fondly catching his gaze.

“Oh... wow.” Eren looked stunned. Then his expression grew slightly guilty. “I'm sorry, I would've helped...”

“No, it's okay,” Armin hurried to reassure him. “We just decided to do this on our own. You can help clean up though, if you want. We... made a bit of a mess.” He glanced sheepishly at the counter, covered in patches of flour and various other scraps and crumbs.

“Yeah, I will. Should we do that now? It would be bad if Levi came in and saw this...”

“Let's give it a once-over for now,” Mikasa suggested, “and then clean up more thoroughly after we eat. We don't want the food to get cold.”

“Sounds good to me,” Armin agreed. Mikasa began to sweep crumbs from the counter into her hand, Armin grabbed a rag, and Eren pulled the broom from its designated corner. Between the three of them, they got the worst of the mess cleaned up quickly. It wasn't nearly up to Levi's standards, but hopefully he wouldn't prowl through before they had the chance to do a proper job of it.

“This is way too much food,” Eren remarked as they began the task of carting the meal to the mess hall. “What are we gonna do with it all?”

“There's space in the ice box,” Mikasa said.

“And I'm sure the others won't mind eating the leftovers,” Armin added, and was glad to hear the teasing tone in Eren's voice when he responded.

“Who says I wanna share the leftovers?”

“ _You_ have no say in the matter. You didn't make it,” Mikasa deadpanned.

“Way to hit where it hurts,” he grumbled, without any real irritation.

They got everything arranged and looked over the array of food. It smelled delicious, way better than anything in their bland military rations.

“It would look nicer if we had a tablecloth,” commented Mikasa, though she didn't sound particularly displeased.

A sudden sniffle caught her and Armin's attention and they both looked over in surprise to see Eren quickly turning away, scrubbing at his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Mikasa reached for him in concern.

“Yeah,” he replied hoarsely. “I just... I love you guys.”

She tucked her nose into her scarf and leaned into his shoulder, arms wrapping around his waist. Eren gripped her shoulders with one arm and tugged Armin in with the other. Armin slotted against them, embracing them both tightly as they weathered this wave of emotion together. He felt Eren nuzzle into his hair, felt Mikasa adjust her grip to include him, felt the living, breathing warmth of his two closest friends, and even as his heart twisted painfully in his chest, he felt somehow peaceful.

They finally broke apart after what seemed like a long time.

“We'd better start eating,” Mikasa said, and maybe it was just the light that made her eyes seem to glisten.

“Yeah,” Eren agreed, looking more in control of himself now. “Sorry about that.”

“Don't worry about it,” Armin reassured gently, giving his hand a light squeeze. Eren managed a small smile and reached up, brushing the warm pad of his thumb across his cheek.

“You had some flour on your face,” he explained. Beside him, Mikasa rolled her eyes and pushed them towards the table.

–

The mood grew more cheerful after that, and they ended up making a surprisingly big dent in their meal. Cleaning up afterwards was a bit more of an ordeal since none of them really wanted to work now that they were so full, but alas, it had to be done. They meandered up to the common room when they were done, lighting a fire in the hearth and cuddling together on the thin sofa in front of it for a while. They chatted sleepily in short bursts, dozing lightly in between, or just falling into thought. Armin found his mind pleasantly blank – not blank like the cold, flat plane of the snowy field, but rather washed over with the warm crackle of the fire and Eren's heartbeat steady in his ear.

Mikasa stretched on Eren's other side. “I think I need to go to bed,” she said, suppressing a yawn. She reached around to give them both another tight hug. “I'll see you two in the morning.”

“Alright. Thanks for everything today.” Eren's voice was sincere as he returned the squeeze. “I'm... really glad we did that.”

“Me, too.” She gave Armin a small smile as she pulled back.

They bade her goodnight and she gave Eren a pointed look before she slipped from the room.

“How about you?” Armin murmured from where he rested against Eren's chest. “Almost ready for bed?” He was getting there himself.

“Almost,” he responded, but there was something off about his tone. “But first, um...”

Armin lifted up a bit to look at him curiously. “What's up?”

“Well, I just... I have something. For you.” He shifted a bit and Armin sat up all the way to give him room to move. Eren reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

Armin was confused, but he accepted what Eren dropped into his hands. He looked down and sucked in a breath.

It was a perfect scallop shell, the fan-like ridges stained a deep, earthy red, banded with thin strips of white. He used to love collecting these types of shells as a kid, on the occasions he was able to get to a lake. He would run around the beach scouring the sand for them, admiring the variations in color, in pattern. He didn't think he'd ever seen one quite like this before. He flipped it over to the concave side, taking in the way pale purple faded to white as the shell widened. A small hole was bored carefully into the base of the shell, and a thin leather strap ran through it. He realized it was meant to be a necklace.

“I know it's not much,” Eren said hurriedly. “But I just... When I went to the interior a few weeks ago with the Commander and everyone, we passed by this lake not too far from base, and I thought... Well, I remembered how excited you always got about shells, and I thought maybe you... might like one.” He glanced down, his cheeks a little red. “I know this is nothing compared to what there must be at the ocean, but...”

Armin shook his head emphatically. “No, I love it,” he said fiercely, his chest flooding with affection. He looked up at Eren, sure that his eyes must be shining. “It's beautiful. Thank you so much.” He smiled helplessly. Then something occurred to him. “Is this why you've been gone so much lately?”

“Oh... yeah. Sorry.” Eren looked sheepish. “It probably seems stupid to take so long for something so small but I... really wanted to find a perfect one. And it was hard to get the hole right. I ended up breaking a bunch of test ones,” he rambled nervously. “I know the solstice isn't really a present-giving holiday, but I dunno. After everything that's happened, and with everything that's probably going to happen... I just really wanted to.”

Armin was touched, more than touched, that Eren had gone to such lengths for him. He reached over and wrapped his arms around the taller boy's neck, burying his face in his shoulder. “I love you so much,” he whispered hoarsely against his shirt.

Eren's arms firmly encircled his back. “I love you too.” All traces of uncertainty had disappeared from his voice. After a long moment, he pulled back. “Will you put it on?” He asked, green eyes shining with tentative hope.

Armin gave him a warm, slightly teary smile. “How could I say no to that face?” He unwound the coil of leather, very aware of Eren's gaze fixed on him as he slipped the loop over his head. The shell tapped gently against his sternum, and warmth seemed to blossom from where it rested, though it didn't lay quite flat against his chest.

“Whoops.” Eren grimaced. “I... should have realized it would go sideways.”

“It's okay, I'm sure we can fix that easily enough.” Armin reassured, beaming up at him. A smile broke onto Eren's own lips in response.

He leaned in closer to Armin, hand coming up to pull the key out of his own shirt. He held it gently against the shell.

“First we'll get to the basement,” he murmured, breath puffing against Armin's lips. “Then we'll get to the ocean.”

Armin tilted forward to press their foreheads together, noses brushing. He lifted his hand, loosely clasping the shell, the key, and Eren's fingers. “It's a promise,” he murmured back. His eyes slid shut as a pair of warm, dry lips met his own.

The fire crackled in the hearth. A charred log slid into the bed of ashes with a hiss, plunging the room into near-darkness as the flames flickered low on the spent kindling. Outside it was still snowing, and the castle was still drafty, but the cold couldn't reach them here, ensconced in their little cocoon of warmth.

Eren broke the kiss but didn't move away. “Okay,” he said, and Armin felt his lips curve into a grin. “ _Now_ I'm ready for bed.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote all of this today so I apologize if it comes off as a little rushed, or has some awkward transitions - there are a few aspects I would've liked to have fleshed out more as well but I just didn't have time. I hope you enjoyed it (and the mountain of cheeeeeese) anyway!


End file.
